Decrease in earnings

My CPC has decreased

CPC is market driven and depends on various factors like advertisers bidding on keywords and the CPC values they're willing to pay. For example, CPC can fall at the beginning of each quarter when marketers are shifting budget. When troubleshooting changes in CPC, it's a good practice is to extend the date range of your reports out to a year.

The Entire account by day report with clicks metrics

Once you've opened the report, remember to go back a year to see if the trend is consistent. Extending the date range will help you pinpoint the exact time of the decline and if specific changes led to the drop in CPC.

Recommended actions for declining CPC

If your earnings have decreased because of a drop in CPC, here are some steps you can take:

Ensure you're using the best performing ad sizes, these can lead to a better CPC and CTR. Our most optimal sizes are 720x90, 336x280, 160x600, and the 320x100 mobile banner. Learn more about the most successful ad sizes.

Make sure you're not blocking any ads you don't need to. If you block too many advertisers, ad networks, general or sensitive categories, this can decrease CPC because there are fewer advertisers in the auction bidding on your inventory. Learn more in our guide to allowing and blocking ads.

Opt your ad units in to show both text and display ads. Ensuring your site has access to as much ad inventory as possible will help to increase auction pressure and drive up your CPC.

Seasonality can affect advertisers' bids - for instance, retail advertisers may increase their bids during specific times of the year when their sales tend to increase. Also, CPC can fall at the beginning of each quarter. Think about your site's vertical, for example, if your site caters to students, you should expect traffic to fall in the summer. We recommend learning how the ad auction works, and how these types of changes can impact your earnings.